Ranking Finds S.D. Beats Competitors on Parks, Bicycles, Weather

San Diego outranks many of its competitor cities in “livability” measures such as parks and bicycle infrastructure and weather, but lags in areas including joblessness and poverty, according to a report released Sept. 29 by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Sponsored by Bank of America, the report is the latest in a series of dashboard-style rankings comparing the city to nine metropolitan areas San Diego competes against for technology workers. They are Austin, Texas; Boston; Denver; Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Francisco; San Jose and Seattle.

San Diego came in third among those cities in a 2016 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index report, behind San Jose and Austin.

More specifically, the new report said San Diego ranked first in total acres of parkland and bicycle infrastructure, second in weather and seventh in walkability. Its rate of upward mobility was fourth-highest, and its property crime was the lowest of the 10 cities.

But San Diego also placed second in poverty and third in unemployment; in both measures, lower is better. The city’s obesity rate ranked sixth, same as its violent crime rate.

“We have a natural advantage when it comes to standard of living – it’s what makes San Diego a great place for business,” Chamber President and CEO Jerry Sanders said in a news release.

“However, to reach our goal of becoming the best place to do business, we need to work on the policies, taxes and regulations that impact our region’s affordability and business climate,” he continued. “The good news is those are areas we can change.”